Indian American Political Candidates Raise $26M Ahead of November Midterm Elections

Federal Election Commission figures show that a dozen Indian American political candidates running for Congress in the midterm election next month have raised more than $26 million for their respective campaigns.

Six of those candidates have outraised their opponents, according to the FEC filings. Incumbent U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal and Ami Bera have all outraised their opponents, while challengers Hiral Tipirneni and Aftab Pureval have outraised the incumbents in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District and Ohio’s 1st Congressional District, respectively.

If those who outraised win, the number of Indian Americans in the House would jump from the current four to six. Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., has raised more than $5 million, topping the list, according to the FEC. His opponent, Jitender Diganvker, also an Indian American, has raised $35,817, which is the lowest fund-raising figure among the dozen Indian Americans in the race for the Congress this time.

Shiva Ayyadurai, who is running for a Senate seat in Massachusetts against veteran incumbent Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, has raised $5 million. But political pundits give him very little chance against Warren, who has raised $20 million so far, the Press Trust of India reported.

Indian American physician Tipirneni has raised over $3.76 million. Tipirneni lost to incumbent Republican incumbent Rep. Debbie Lesko ($1.8 million raised) during the special elections early this year.

Pureval is seeking to enter the U.S. House of Representatives from the first Congressional District of Ohio. The only Indian American to be endorsed by former U.S. President Barack Obama, Pureval has raised $3.1 million, as against his Republican opponent and incumbent Steve Chabot of about $1 million. Chabot’s latest figures with FEC are only till June 30, the PTI report noted.

Three-time Congressman from California’s 7th Congressional District Bera has raised $2.69 million compared to the $373,000 by his Republican opponent Andrew Grant. Representing Silicon Valley, Khanna from the 17th Congressional District of California is pretty close with $2.62 million. He virtually has no contest at all, PTI said.

Jayapal, the first Indian American woman to be elected to the House, has raised $1.66 million, according to the FEC figures till July 18. Her opponent Craig Keller has raised about $3,000 till the same period.

Former diplomat Sri Preston Kulkarni is running a spirited campaign against Republican incumbent Peter H Olson, who has raised $1.38 million, the report said. Kulkarni, who is running from the 22nd Congressional District of Texas, has raised $1.02 million so far as per the latest FEC figures.

Anita Malik is the third Indian American woman in the race to the Congress this mid-term. She has raised $128,826 in the race for the 6th Congressional District of Arizona. Incumbent David Schweikert has raised $1.4 million.

Democratic Sanjay Patel, who is seeking a seat in Florida’s 8th Congressional District, has raised $231,381 while his Republican opponent Bill Posey has raised $782,469. Patel’s fund-raising figures are only till Aug. 8, according to the FEC, the PTI report said.

Also running for seats are Jitender Diganvker and Harry Arora. Contesting from the 4th Congressional District, Arora has raised $729,405 compared to Democrat Jim Himes’ $1.57 million, the report said.